Various coupling assemblies or plugs are known for coupling hydraulic or pneumatic conduits. In general, one form of plug to connect fluid coupling includes a female half having a longitudinal bore with a sealing ring and a lock ring mounted in the bore. A male half includes a nipple having a sealing surface for contact with the sealing ring to create a seal between the halves. The nipple generally includes a barb extending outwardly from its outer surface to create a shoulder against which the lock ring would be disposed to mechanically lock the two halves together.
It would be desirable if such fluid couplings could be provided with some manner of readily disconnecting the two halves so that the halves can be separated from each other. It would also be desirable if some form of wear indicator device could be included in the fluid coupling to indicate that substantial wear has resulted to the barb. It would further be desirable if such fluid coupling could include some structure to verify that the two halves are mechanically locked together. It would also be desirable if some structure could be provided to prevent relative rotation of one half with respect to the other when the halves are locked together and selectively permit relative rotation when it is desired to rotate one half without having to rotate the other half.
An object of this invention is to provide various structure which accomplishes the above desires.
In accordance with one practice of this invention a disconnect sleeve is slidably mounted to the male half so that upon movement toward the split lock ring the disconnect sleeve causes the lock ring to expand and thereby permits the lock ring to move over the barb out of its locking condition.
In accordance with yet another practice of this invention the barb includes an outer surface between its locking shoulder and forward ramp so that when wear results to the barb the lock ring will remain in locking engagement with the barb until the sealing ring is no longer in sealing contact with the sealing surface of the nipple. As a result, the leakage that occurs will provide an indication of wear at a time when the halves are still coupled together.
In accordance with a further practice of this invention coupling verification structure is provided which preferably is in the form of at least one ball mounted in a hole which is in radial communication with the groove for the lock ring. As a result, when the lock ring is disposed on the outer surface of the barb the ball is displaced to such an extent that it partially extends beyond the outer surface of the female half. When, however, the lock ring passes over the barb and is disposed against the locking shoulder of the barb, the ball no longer projects from the outer surface. A verification sleeve is slidably mounted on the female half. The sliding movement of the verification sleeve is prevented by the ball when the ball extends partially beyond the outer surface of the female half thereby indicating that the halves are not yet locked together. When, however, the lock ring is disposed against the locking shoulder and the ball no longer extends beyond the outer surface of the female half, the verification sleeve can slide past the ball thereby confirming that the halves are coupled together.
In still yet another practice of this invention, anti-rotational structure is provided in the form of a sliding sleeve mounted on the male half. The sleeve has an inner surface portion which conforms to the non-circular, such as hexagonal, outer surface of the female half, as well as an inner surface portion which conforms to the non-circular outer surface on the male half. Thus, when the anti-rotational sleeve is moved over the female half the female half is prevented from rotating with respect to the male half. When it is desired to rotate the female half without rotating the male half, the anti-rotational sleeve is moved to its disengagement position.